


the temperature drops and your shivers freeze all the rivers around (but i keep you warm)

by inkheights



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Confessions, Cow Moon Ship, Fluff, Getting Together, Insecure Tsukishima Kei, Insecurity, M/M, Miyagi First Years' Intensive Training Camp, Sweet Ushijima Wakatoshi, Unintentional Pep Talk, haikyuu rarepair, i mean it's ushijima wakatoshi, reassurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23409139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkheights/pseuds/inkheights
Summary: It started ominously enough that Kei should have seen it coming.He wasn’t drinking so much as he was just gulping water down fast when Ushijima Wakatoshi strode confidently and stopped in front of him, not bothering with any kind of pleasantries before asking, “Tsukishima Kei, are you dating someone at present?”He should have blown water to the ace’s face. He really should have.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 42
Kudos: 391





	the temperature drops and your shivers freeze all the rivers around (but i keep you warm)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is going to be my first ever fic on here! I just love this pairing, I think someone who's honest to a fault like Ushijima is so perfect for countering Tsukishima's self-deprecation because he never minces his words/actions that you have no choice but to believe him. There's just not enough UshiTsuki in the fandom sigh.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this even though I'm still an amateur writer and English is not my first language. Please leave me feedback!
> 
> (title is from Owl City's song The Tip of the Iceberg)

Kei thought that since the incident with his older brother, his life became pretty average. He learned to take things—especially the more distressing ones—in a stride and move on. To some degree, it even became predictable, and while there were some ‘surprises’ here and there, he thought nothing really shook his life so much that it would drastically change in one moment. 

Well, nothing except moments that involved Ushijima Wakatoshi. 

His complicity in the first one was more subtle, and though the nationally revered volleyball ace played a huge part in it, it wasn’t like he willingly got himself blocked dead on by the first year middle blocker. Nevertheless, it was a moment that turned everything upside down for Kei, and as annoying as it was to admit, a certain owlhead was right when he said that moment would get him hooked on volleyball. _Hooked_ did he get. 

The other one, however, was _this_. Completely willful, deliberate, and premeditated, as Kei had learned—from the murder documentaries he was _not_ obsessed with—the qualifications for first-degree murder were. Ushijima did not kill him, but he might as well have with the five words he spilled from that stupid mouth of his in front of the whole stupid Miyagi First Years’ Intensive Training Camp. 

It started ominously enough that Kei should have seen it coming. He was finally taking a break after a rigorous 2-on-2 match partnered with Koganegawa, who seemed to be incapable of making any toss that would not require him to jump _at least_ ten feet off the ground to spike. He wasn’t drinking so much as he was just gulping water down fast when the wing spiker strode confidently and stopped in front of him, not bothering with any kind of pleasantries before asking, “Tsukishima Kei, are you dating someone at present?” 

He should have blown water to the ace’s face. He _really_ should have, then maybe Ushijima would just be turned off and back away. Alas, one of his top bad decision making instances had to be right then. 

He slowly brought the drinking bottle to his side, wiped his mouth off, and eloquently replied, “Um... no?” 

And once again, Ushijima Wakatoshi decided to make a pandemonium of his life. 

“Then go out with me.” 

Kei felt lightheaded. 

From a distance, he heard a volleyball dropping to the floor at the same time he dropped the bottle, making him notice how the Shiratorizawa gynasium became extraordinarily quiet. And _nosy_. Everyone was staring at them, shocked like he was. Even Washijō-sensei was looking with wide eyes and mouth ajar, and suddenly all the other embarassing events in Kei’s life had been outranked. 

Ushijima, on the other hand, was far from embarassed. He merely fixed a stare at the blonde with his usual stoic expression, waiting for his answer to the question. If that was even a question. It sounded like an order, like it would be impertinent to go against it so now the spiker was just waiting for a ‘yes, sir’ or something. If for that reason alone, Kei was irritated to no end. 

He decided to grab the Shiratorizawa captain by the cuff of his left sleeve, despite half-expecting him to not budge. To his surprise, the larger male went along as he dragged him outside metal doors. 

He contemplated settling for the back of the gym, but figured there were too many prying eyes. So, armed with only his indignation and limited knowledge of the Shiratorizawa campus, he walked and walked and walked and walked. 

Before they were out of earshot of the gymnasium, he faintly heard strangled animal noises from the building. His face warmed slightly at the prospect of having to face those people later but he quickly schooled his expression to a calm façade. 

_For God’s sake, I didn’t even do anything to be embarassed about_ , he reasoned with no small amount of forced determination. 

It wasn’t long before he was forced to deal with his ignorance of where they were headed, when they came across a sign that read ‘Junior High School Dormitories’ for the third time. 

“This is the third time we are passing here.” 

Ushijima Wakatoshi just _couldn’t_ shut up. Kei let go of his jacket at that instant and faced him. He crossed his arms in front of him and raised an eyebrow at the brunette, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. 

And _of course_ , the volleyball idiot did not get it, only meeting his glare with a steady gaze, face giving away nothing of what was going on in his mind. 

“What was that back there?” he tried, a little too exasperated than he wanted to sound when a gust of wind hit his skin. He then realized that it was winter and he was standing outside with nothing but a sweaty white shirt and volleyball shorts to fend off the cold. Well, one more reason to curse the man in front of him, he guessed. 

Said man’s head gave a slight tilt. “Me asking you out,” he answered like it was the most obvious answer. 

And maybe it _was_ , considering what already transpired, but Kei could not wrap his head around it. The closest to a social interaction they had had outside the court was the ace bowing to him in apology for a hand injury, and now he wanted to date him? It just did not make any sense. 

An obscured, darker part of his mind whispered ‘maybe _that’s_ why he’s willing to date you.’ He squashed it like a mosquito buzzing near his ear. He was not going to spiral down that road in the middle of a foreign school—especially not in front of an FIVB U19 Japan representative. 

“Asking me out... Like _date_ me? Am I getting you right?” he pressed on disbelievingly. 

“Yes, that is what I mean.” 

“Huh.” He rubbed his arms then, and tried to convince himself it was just the cold getting to him. He _did_ easily get cold. But he knew there was something else there too. Something ugly that reared its head once in a while, when he was too blindsided to keep it from coming. And this was one of the rare times he was thoroughly caught off-guard. 

Kei had been confessed to before, sure. Yamaguchi and Hinata had often referred to him as ‘popular’ due to the number of people who were rumored to have taken interest in him and tried to date him. But those were rather nonchalant confessions, lightly thrown around because they felt the need for someone to turn their attention to, and Kei fit the conventional image of their desired partner in their heads. Some of the confessions Kei accepted in middle school ended up with the person being disappointed that he did not turn out to be what they expected, and he gradually accepted them less, until he stopped altogether right before high school. 

But Ushijima’s confession—or _demand_ , whatever—seemed utterly serious to the point of being _intense_. Like he was dead set on Kei, and that was something unfamiliar as it was... unimaginable. 

“Was that a no?” the brunette interrupted his thoughts, and Kei was struck with the fact that he _was_ actually _asking_ and not commanding. 

“It wasn’t,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. 

The wing spiker’s eyes widened just a fraction, and it would have been entirely missed if Kei had blinked the moment it happened. “Was it a yes, then?” 

_Was it?_

Kei did not have an answer. At the moment, he only had doubts. Doubts and questions. His eyes cast downward, focusing on the green streaks of his volleyball shoes. He blamed on his fatigue-addled mind, and a little on the somber winter wind, the next words he breathed. 

“Why me...?” 

_Why not Hinata, or Goshiki, or anyone else who’s obviously a better choice?_ was left unspoken, and it hung there with the weight of the words he didn’t mean to mumble. 

Mumble because his voice was uncharacteristically small, and incredibly soft to an extent he could believe the ace did not hear it. After a few moments of silence, he thought maybe the other really didn’t, and he steeled his resolve to just put all of this aside and reject the older. 

As he ultimately glanced up again, however, he was met with Ushijima’s ever-impassive look, closer than it was supposed to be. That was followed by heat enveloping his back, then his shoulders, then his arms. It took him a while to process that Ushijima had taken off his jacket, and was now putting it around _Kei_. 

“Wh-What are y—” 

“You have been looking cold for a while now, but I was not sure if this would be presumptuous until you were visibly shivering,” he plainly stated, like this was the standard course of action after he confirmed his observation. 

He squeezed the jacket over Kei’s shoulders once more to secure it in place. Then he stepped back, but was still closer than he previously was. Despite himself, Kei clutched the center front of the white and purplish maroon piece of clothing, letting it ground him as they stood in silence once again. 

Surprisingly, it was Ushijima again who broke it. 

“You underestimate your level of desirability.” The third year pinned him down with his eyes, making him unable to move or look away. “You are a talented volleyball player, that is enough to make me like you.” 

Kei wanted to snort because that was such a volleyball idiot thing to say, but he felt there was more to be said. 

“However, I am also aware that you have an intelligence you carry outside of the court, you have an interesting way of interacting with other people, whether it be your teammates or students of other schools. It would be a lie to say you’re not attractive...” At that admission, Ushijima coughed a little, and Kei could swear he saw the smallest hint of a blush. “I have observed you a lot during the days I could watch the training camp, and since today was the last day, I thought it was going to be my last chance.” 

Now, it was Kei’s turn to feel warmth surge up to his ears. The wing spiker had been watching him, _waiting_ for a chance to ask him out. He mentally slapped himself. His pale complexion definitely showed any kind of coloring on his skin, and he was sure his blush was not subtle. 

“Tsukishima Kei, I would like get to know you more. Please go out with me.” And maybe it was only because Ushijima allowed it, but his face actually showed an inkling of nervousness. His jaw a little tense, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Like he was offering some sort of vulnerability. 

How could Kei decline that? 

“Okay,” he found himself saying, the heat of his face indisputable now, even internally. 

Then Ushijima had to curl his lips just oh so slightly upward and make Kei malfunction altogether. “Okay.” 

He was suddenly hyperaware of the warmth of the jacket around him, probably still carrying some lingering body heat of the wing spiker. It smelled of fabric conditioner, and some other fruitier scent that Kei guessed was Ushijima’s body wash. 

“This...” he coughed and cleared his throat to try again, “This is _still_ presumptuous, you know?” He gestured to the garment over his shoulders. 

The Shiratorizawa captain’s face went back to its inscrutable default, and his head tilted again to the side in what looked like contemplation. “The alternative is hugging you through the walk back to the gymnasium to keep you warm. Would you rather have that?” 

“Oh God, how could say that with a straight face?” Kei had to cover his face with his hands in secondhand embarassment. The jacket almost slipped off his shoulders but Ushijima was quick to catch it, stepping into Kei’s personal space again. 

“So...?” 

Kei groaned in fake irritation and swatted Ushijima’s hands off the jacket. He slipped his arms into the sleeves as Ushijima watched with his stupid deadpan face. It was obviously fit for a wider built. The collar hung lower and his shoulders were too narrow, resulting in the sleeve cuffs extending to his fingertips. 

But it was _warm_. 

And it kept him warm until they reached the heated Shiratorizawa gymnasium. And if Hinata made a comment about how big it was on Kei, then maybe he got a smack on the head. 

**Author's Note:**

> I might make this into a series because I love these two so much grr. I hope you enjoyed reading!


End file.
